Alexander to Daycare

After babysitting Alexander for just one day by myself (my mom is on vacation), I told Brian, "let's go find a daycare... I can't take it anymore!" I was getting really frustrated having a toddler clinging to me, screaming for attention, or typing on my computer for me the whole time I was trying to work. This was two days ago (Monday). That same afternoon and the day after, we visited 5 daycare centers and quickly decided on one yesterday. It wasn't a difficult decision: one does not have vacancy until September; one does not do short-term daycare; one looks aged and crowded; one smells like a litter box, has mixed age group, and lets the kids watch TV so that the teachers can clean up... The one that we decided on is a bit pricey, but probably the best among the 5 we visited. $360/week for 2.5 weeks of productivity and sanity... hope it's worth it! They even have internet cameras! As Brian put it, "people tend to behave better when they're being recorded". So this feature definitely adds another layer of comfort for the parents, knowing that they can see their kids any time of the day. We are lucky that they happen to have space right now due to the summer break.

I usually don't make decisions, especially major decisions, this quickly, but I was at my wit's end. After only one day. I don't know how my mom does it... I think we took things for granted. We didn't realize just how much help she was to us until she is gone.

Today is his first day. There was no fighting, no tears. When we dropped him off, he was running around happily within minutes... didn't even realize when we were gone! Before we sent him off this morning, I couldn't wait; I just wanted someone to take him so I could get some (much needed) work done (am I a bad mother?). But after we arrived at the daycare and saw him be with the other kids, I felt like crying. It was a mixture of sadness (from the parting), guilt (how could I want to send him off?) and pride (our little boy is growing up!) I think I would've cried if he showed any signs of resistance. We're fortunate compared to many other parents, that we didn't have to think about daycare until now. And even then it is only temporary. But still, even though this was what I wanted, I still feel a bit sad.

Luckily, he didn't seem to be having any problem this morning (*knock on wood*). Hopefully he enjoys his time there. I think we'll stop by the center during lunch time... :)

First Dentist Visit

Alexander had his first dental check-up yesterday. Not much happened; the dentist checked his teeth and brushed some stuff on them (I really should've asked what she put on them). Alexander was cooperative for the most part. He has 10 teeth now, plus 2 in the process of erupting. For a long time, he had just 6 teeth, and we were starting to wonder when he was going to get more. Then a couple months ago, he was fussy again several days in the row. That was when we realized that more teeth were finally coming in. Within a few weeks, new teeth just kept popping out one after another. No wonder he had been so difficult lately!

One potentially bad news is that the dentist said he'll probably need braces later, as his teeth are already too close to each other. She doesn't think that his mouth has enough space for all his teeth. :(

We started brushing his teeth ever since he had his first tooth. In the beginning, we used a finger brush, and graduated to using a real toothbrush couple months ago. He actually prefers the toothbrush. I bought an electric toothbrush for him today, but he wasn't thrilled about it. I think the sound of the motor scares him. I'd like to start flossing his teeth soon, but I need to figure out how to get him to cooperate first. It's not going to be easy...

You can see the 4 big teeth on the top, 2 big teeth, and 2 partial teeth on the bottom. Also visible is his bottom first molar (there is one on the other side too). The top first molars are in the process of erupting.

First Haircut

I finally decided that it was time that Alexander got a haircut. His hair was so long that it was bothering his eyes. I kept procrastinating because, well, I've never done this before. I was afraid I'd hurt him, or mess up his hair (I saw my baby pictures... I never want to do the same to him! Talking about bad hair days... more like bad hair years. I think I had a bowl-cut until I was 5 or 6...)

Anyway, here is a "before" picture. He looked a bit concerned.

At first, I tried using a pair of thinning scissors, but that didn't work out so well. So Brian took over with his clipper. Alexander was actually pretty good for the most part, despite the funny face he made.

Brian was getting too aggressive with the clipper, so after he finished one side, I took over the other side. This is what I did. Not bad, huh? Though I think it was still too long. There was a bald spot (oops), but it was covered with hair so it's not noticeable

Now Brian's side... I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this. At least my bald spot was concealable! I admit, it was probably my fault that he ended up with this bald "stripe." I was too busy watching Brian, and I forgot that I needed to keep Alexander still. He apparently was turning his head around while Brian tried to cut his hair. Still, that doesn't change the fact that he looked comical. He reminds me of some cartoon character, but I can't recall the name. I don't think Brian appreciated that I was laughing so hard.

These were taken the next day. My side.

Brian's side. It'll grow back... He's still cute~

Sick (Delayed Post)

A few days after his birthday party, Alexander got sick. He probably got it from my mom, who had been sick before the party. It all started after we took him to the doctor's office for his one-year checkup on 12/15. The poor baby had 4 vaccines. He started having a fever the same afternoon. While a low-grade fever is a common side effect for one of the vaccines, it was still worrisome for us. Up till now, Alexander had never had a fever, and had never been sick. The fever didn't go away the next day. In fact, it got worse. He also started having other cold symptoms.

We called the doctor's office; they wanted us to keep an eye on him. I've found that it's a pretty standard response from the doctor's office: "Keep an eye on him. If it doesn't get better by X day, then you can bring him in." We gave him children's acetaminophen, which helped bring the fever down. However, as soon as we stopped the medicine, the fever came back. Other than giving him acetaminophen, putting warm towels on him, and propping his bed, there wasn't much we could do to make him feel better.

On one hand, I told myself that he was building up his immunity. On the other hand, it still sucked to watch him suffer. The coughing sounded terrible and kept him up at night. Added to this was the nightly torture session: saline drops in the nose and aspiration. He absolutely hated it, as evident from the struggling and screaming.

Maybe I'll eventually get used to the idea that kids get sick, but as it was the first time that it happened, it was pretty scary. We just kept taking him back to the doctor's office for checkup, whenever his symptoms worsened or did not get well by X day, as the various nurses/doctors instructed. On 12/23, 8 days after the initial symptoms, the doctor saw cloudy fluids in his ears - the beginning of an ear infection. He was to take antibiotics for 10 days. On the same day, Brian also went to the doctor (he had also been sick), and was diagnosed of bronchitis.

With just 3 days to our planned trip to Taiwan, we decided to cancel the trip. Even though the doctor said he should be OK to fly by then due to the antibiotics, we didn't want to take the chance of him (and Brian) getting worse during the trip, especially in the air. I'm still disappointed that we missed my brother's wedding, but it was the right thing to do. Our spirits were there with them.

First Birthday Cake (Delayed Post)

I haven't felt like writing lately because, well, I've been writing too much for work! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here comes the 5,000 words...

It's Alexander's first birthday party. Brian initially wanted to shove Alexander's face into the cake. He claimed that it's "family tradition." We didn't do it - thank goodness. We figured that he would've made enough mess of it by himself without us helping him (and as the pictures suggest, we were right). I cringed as he dug the cake inside of his ear, but he looked like he was enjoying it. The sleeved bib was really useful, by the way.

Alexander in Suit

We've been talking about letting Alexander be the "flower boy" in my brother's wedding on New Year's Day (I guess the more appropriate term is "ring bearer" for boys in the U.S.). This has just been confirmed last week, when Alexander started "walking." I am very excited about this, mostly because I'll get to dress Alexander up (whether he likes it or not...). Last weekend, we bought a tux for Alexander (well, actually two tuxes since Men's Wearhouse had a buy-one-get-one-free sale. Anyone needs a flower boy/ring bearer in 2012, by the way? The tux we got for free is size 3T :p) I also ordered a knicker suit online... I couldn't get over how cute the boy looks in the picture and had to get one. This is the look I was going after: http://www.dapperlads.com/index.php?c=17&p=21

Today the knicker suit arrived, so my mom and I played dress-up with Alexander. Brian was the photographer, who kept saying "poor Alexander" the whole time.

I can't describe the way I felt when I saw Alexander in his suit. My eyes tear up... my little boy is growing up, and he looks so handsome.

Now the tux. Unfortunately, I think the 1T looks too big on him (especially the pants and the jacket)... :( Maybe we'll keep the knicker suit and return the tuxes, which would suck since it's such a good deal. Nevertheless, I can't wait to hold Alexander's hands and walk down the isle with him <- OK, this sentence just sounded very wrong...

Alexander walking

Alexander has made tremendous progress on walking in the past few days. He started taking one or two steps on his own about 3 weeks ago, but it was more the momentum than him walking. When his grandparents were here this week, he attempted his real first steps:

He progressed quickly. Within 30 minutes, he was able to take nine steps. Maybe we should've let him roam around the basement more often.